Good Sunday morning to all of our friends and family, from Grand-Goave, Haiti. This morning, we woke to the news that Hurricane Matthew had moved away from Jamaica, and now appears to be making a more direct path towards Haiti. We in the Department of the Ouest (West), including Port-au-Prince and all areas south and west, are preparing for the likes of a storm that Haiti has not seen in nearly a decade.
We've been overwhelmed with our friends and family reaching out to us. We appreciate the prayers and the well-wishes, and we ask that you continue to send those not only on our behalf, but for the thousands of people in our community and in this country who are not so fortunate as to have the type of facility we do in which to weather the storm.
As I write you now, our staff who is mostly off on Sundays, has reported to work. We are preparing our building, our staff, and our children for the coming storm, and we are so blessed to be able to prepare confidently and comprehensively. We are opening our doors to as many people as we can who work for us, along with their families, where appropriate. While we expect a lot of wind and a lot of water, we know that our building is secure and our foundation is strong. We are preparing.
We have on reserve more than 3000 gallons of treated water. Our nanotechnology water filtration system operates in tandem with the well, both of which require power. Our reliance on our generator is more important than ever! Even still, we will be able to access this stored water with or without power.
We've been overwhelmed with our friends and family reaching out to us. We appreciate the prayers and the well-wishes, and we ask that you continue to send those not only on our behalf, but for the thousands of people in our community and in this country who are not so fortunate as to have the type of facility we do in which to weather the storm.
As I write you now, our staff who is mostly off on Sundays, has reported to work. We are preparing our building, our staff, and our children for the coming storm, and we are so blessed to be able to prepare confidently and comprehensively. We are opening our doors to as many people as we can who work for us, along with their families, where appropriate. While we expect a lot of wind and a lot of water, we know that our building is secure and our foundation is strong. We are preparing.
Our generator, which was so graciously donated to us through a successful fundraising effort, is positioned and ready to carry us through the storm. More than 220 gallons of back up diesel are on site and ready, allowing us roughly 4 days of energy if we were to need it 24/7. This is because of people like you who support us in ways that reach much farther than you could ever imagine.
Our dedicated kitchen staff is working hard to prepare food that we can easily store with or without refrigeration, and keep on hand in the various rooms we've identified as the best options in which to ride out the storm. Thanks to our good friend Mark Leff from Salem 5, our library serves a dual purpose - as the largest enclosed area in Brit's Home, it is our shelter-in-place-area. Mark and his Salem 5 Family were here just last week, having built a home for a family in need in just two days. We are grateful to people like Mark and our Britsionary Family who collectively have constructed 58 homes with hurricane bracing and hurricane straps on the roof. This storm will surely put our buildings to the test, and we're waiting anxiously to see how they weather. This is a mighty storm, and while we pray for the best, we must prepare for the worst.
The donations that come to us at the Operations Center also serve a dual purpose. In a storm like this, we can't be guaranteed the ability to cook. Peanut butter and jelly, tuna, chicken salad, all of this is in stock and in great quantities so that we may prepare food while sheltering in place here inside Brit's Home. The significance of these kinds of donations resonates more now than ever, as we prepare to come together as a family and as a community to ride this storm out.
Our Britsionary Group is flying out of Haiti this morning, safely ahead of the storm. In just two days, our friends from Country Bank, along with Cherylann, built two houses in two full days.
Finally, thanks to our good friend Pastor Scott Johnson and St. John's Church in Kenton, OH, we have on site a satellite phone which will keep us connected no matter what happens to local cell and digital networks. We are grateful.
Please hold us and everyone in Haiti up in your thoughts, prayer, and intentions over the next few days. We will do our best to keep you updated as the storm moves through.
With all that you do, thank you for helping us help keep our children and our family in Haiti safe.
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